The present invention relates to a fingerprint identification system using a fingerprint for identification of persons and more particularly to a fingerprint identification system in which a fingerprint identifying function is added to an operating system (xe2x80x9cOSxe2x80x9d) of an electronic money transfer system, or the fingerprint is used as a key for a door or the like, or the fingerprint is encoded into a cipher key.
In recent years, remarkable developments in information communication technologies have led to great changes in various fields of endeavor. For commercial transactions, it was recently proposed to use electronic currency values, so-called electronic money, instead of the regular currency which has been used for a long time in a monetary system that is principally led by banks.
Since commercial transactions using electronic money are direct transactions between trading parties without using intermediary institutions such as banks, the identification of the trading parties has taken on far greater importance than is necessary in commercial transactions under the current monetary system. In the conventional monetary system, seal-impressions, signatures, personal identification numbers, cards, etc. are used as means for identification.
On the other hand, aside from the issues above, many aspects of current daily life have a need for a reliable, small-size and light-weight identification system which can be manipulated by any authorized person who needs to use the door of a house, to gain access to a building with access restricted for security reasons to certain persons, or as a key for a car, etc., but which cannot be operated by unauthorized persons.
Further, while the transmission of information using computers and the like is popular, it is necessary to maintain the confidentiality of transmitted information. In the past, codes were used for securing confidential information. In coded transmissions, the methods of creating the codes and decoding them are determined in advance between a recipient and the originator of the codes or, alternatively, the recipient secretly sends the chosen encoding method to the sender, who then encodes original information for transmission with the received encoding method. Coded or encrypted data is then sent to the recipient, who decodes the coded data and thereby acquires information from the sender. In addition, it is also known to transmit data by using a public key and a secret key cryptography.
However, in the field of electronic commercial transactions described above, a personal identification number or the like which is customarily used as means for identification is difficult to memorize. If a personal identification number is created which is easy to memorize based on matters related to a person, such as the person""s birthday, the personal identification number is more easily decoded with relational software or the like. Further, if a person illegally acquires a personal identification number, e.g. by theft, that person can impersonate the owner of the personal identification number, which causes problems in terms of the convenience and security of the system. In fact, the most frequently reported troubles involve impersonation, fraudulent use of another""s card, etc.
A key, a magnetic card and the like which are currently used for locking and unlocking a house, a room, a door or a card, etc., as was briefly mentioned above, must be always carried and closely guarded by the user and, therefore, are always subject to getting stolen or lost. If the wrong person should get the key or card, he may fraudulently use it, which is a significant problem.
In data transmission, the encoding method may be leaked to or deciphered by others, even when heavy security is provided to protect the encoding method and the encoded information. In addition, even complex encoding, as in the case of a public key and a secret cryptography key to make decoding difficult, provides no certainty that someone else might not decode the information someday as far as codes are created by a certain method. Thus, codes are not and cannot be perfect.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an information or data transmission system which allows anyone to use it conveniently while ensuring a high degree of security, an electronic money system which is equipped with reliable identification means, and an easy and reliable system for identifying persons or as a replacement for conventional keys and the like.
To solve the problems described above, the present invention provides a fingerprint identification system, incorporated in the OS of an electronic money system, for verifying the identity of persons on the basis of their fingerprints, to prevent persons other than the owner of a money card from using the card. This prevents persons who improperly obtained the card from using it, and hence establishes a safe system for the transfer of currency values which are equivalent to money, to a recipient by means of a money conversion module in an electronic money system.
As described above, since the fingerprint identification of persons is incorporated in the money OS of an electronic money system, the user of the system must always be identified by means of fingerprint matching. Since no two persons have the same fingerprint, the use of fingerprint identification renders electronic money systems safe, simple and convenient to operate, while it prevents forgery and the fraudulent use of the system.
In addition, since the fingerprints are in effect used as keys to the system and only the fingerprints of registered users can unlock the system, other persons can never unlock the system. Moreover, the system is safe, as it eliminates the necessity of keeping keys and has no risk of stolen or lost keys. Further, where documents or the like describing personal information, such as medical records, can only be accessed with fingerprints, a failproof system is provided which prevents others from learning the contents of such documents.
More specifically, the present invention uses fingerprints, which are inherently possessed by everyone, for identification, and uses the fingerprints as personal IDs. IDs with fingerprints do not require generating certain fixed ID codes every time the system is to be accessed. In short, it is not possible to steal a fingerprint ID code which is superimposed over a transmission or other signal and to use the same code, because a person""s fingerprint develops into a different code every time he imprints his fingerprint, which is equivalent to the use of a different ID code every time an imprint is made. Although fingerprints of the same person build the same relational database, which is established in the form of characteristic points of the fingerprints, the person""s finger alone contains the principle itself. That is, it is impossible to decode the stored data, which is kept secret with the person""s ID, or data which is altered with an algorithm detected from the person""s fingerprints, unless an ID based on the person""s fingerprints is used. It is further possible to develop a system which even prevents registration of a decoding key in a computer or the like. In other words, it is possible to provide perfect protection which prevents decoding of any stored data using a person""s fingerprint as a key, unless an ID that is detected from the person""s fingerprints is used.
A money OS according to the present invention incorporating a fingerprint identification system assures positive identification and renders electronic money systems safe, reliable and simple.
In a key system according to the present invention, it is possible to gain access or unlock the system only with a registered person""s fingerprint. Further, the system is free of any risk of stolen or lost keys since the fingerprints are in effect the keys.
Use of the present invention for information or data transmissions provides an exceedingly safe and reliable coding system which allows only the owner of the fingerprint to decipher the encoded data since the data is originally encoded by using the fingerprint as a coding key before it is transmitted.